THAT is not lunch!

I remember a guy from New Zealand once telling me about a rather disconcerting experience he had whilst living in Japan. He was walking down the street, munching on a sandwich, when he started to get an uncomfortable feeling, almost like he was being watched. Whenever he looked up at the people passing in the opposite direction, they would avert their eyes, but he continued to get an uneasy feeling that he was doing something wrong. Was that a hint of disgust he detected in their eyes? 


Turns out it was. I’ve never been to Japan (so correct me if this is way off), but the Kiwi in question told me that he later discovered that to the Japanese, the idea of someone eating as they walk down the street is really disgusting. 

Eating on public transport – surely a step too far for most people?

Well I have started to feel something not dissimilar here in Rio. I’m not talking so much about eating as you walk down the street, but my issue is still lunch related.

Occasionally my wife will ask what I had for lunch that day and sometimes I reply “Oh, I grabbed a pão de queijo and a coxinha“, at which point I see a look appear on her face. I’d describe it as a mixture of incredulity, pity and disgust. Perhaps if she wasn’t my wife it would end there, but instead she proceeds to tell me “That is not lunch! You have to have a proper lunch!”. “It is lunch” I counter, “It fills me up and it’s cheap too! OK, so what is a ‘proper’ lunch?”.

Apparently a proper lunch involves sitting down at a table with a plate, knife and fork (plus some food of course). Now I’m not going to say she’s wrong. In fact I think this is a really healthy, civilised tradition. I guess it’s just that old habits die hard and I have spent most of my working life just ‘grabbing a bite’.

I have warned her that she will get a shock if we ever move to London as eating at your desk is sadly quite common there. But now, if I happen to grab something quick and eat at my desk, I find myself experiencing something akin to my Kiwi friend’s uneasiness – are my colleagues glancing over at me with disgust? Well, maybe they are and it’s probably not a bad thing that I feel uneasy as hopefully it will help me rid myself of this bad habit.

But what, you may ask, do Brazilians do if they want to cut costs and bring something in from home? That is where the Marmi Quent [MAR-mee KENCH] comes in.

The Marmi Quent – the name comes from ‘marmite’, a traditional French cooking pot (as well as food of the gods), and ‘quente’ meaning hot.

For me these things are really weird. The Marmi Quent is a lunch-box sized, brown plastic container which plugs into the wall. Some water is added and then a slightly smaller box containing rice, vegetables and some meat or fish is placed inside. An element heats the water so that it gently simmers, heating the food up in around 30 minutes. Judging by my office these things are really popular in Brazil – there must be at least 5 in the kitchen which serves just 15 people. 


I’ve got to say, I’m not quite ready to rush out a pick up my own Marmi Quent, but I can see that they’re great if you are used to having a hot meal for lunch. And really, seeing as I am the freak who will happily eat a snack for lunch while checking his emails, who am I to judge?